Electric switch



L. KELLNER.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPucATmN FILED MN. 4. 1918.

Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET1.

LW nvm/Mofo attori/w 135 L. KELLNER.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPLICATION min MN. 4, 1918.

Patented Cai, 54, 1920. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l 33313 j @IHM/14u36 UNITED STATES APATENT g OFFICE.

LOUIS` KELLNER, 0F BROOKLYN, NEWl YORK.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedOct. 5, x1920.

, Application filed January 4, 1918. Serial No. 216,339.

To all 'w hom t 'may 1o/noem, v13e vit Vknown that I, LOUIS KELLNER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ofV operable with a Asnap action to both make and break the circuit.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a switch operable 'through a crank mechanism rto both make and break the circuit with a quick snap action irrespective of the speed of movement of the switch handle.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of a yprotecting ca sing inclosing the fuses and the entire switch mechanism except the switch handle or lever, and to provide means for preventing the opening of the door or cover ofthe casing when thc switch is in circuit-closing position; and a further object of the invention is to Aprovide means operable bythe movement of the switch mechanism for automatically locking the door of the switch casing when the circuit lis closed and for automatically unlocking thedoor when the switch is operated tobreak the circuit.

A further important object of the invention is to provide locking mechanism for the door or cover of the switch casing so constructed that the door may be opened and closed when the switch is infcircuitbreaking position, that thedoor cannot be opened when the circuit is closed, and that the door will ybe automatically closed when the switch is moved to circuit-closing position if accidentally or carelessly left open when the switch is operated to close the circuit.

A further object of the invention is to provide a switch vcasing inclosing the fuses and the operating parts of the switch mechanism with the exception of the switch handle, so constructed ythat the fuses., w.ill be exposed when the door or: cover of the casing is opened, while the switch contacts and active parts of the switch mechanism will be inclosed within an inner compartment of the casing.

' views.

transverse sectional view of the switch, taken on the line l-l of Fig. 2,'

141g. 2 a vertical longitudinal sectional 'View taken on the vline 2-2of Fig. l',

Fig. 3 a detail sectional view on theV line 'I3-+3 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 'et a horizontal sectional view on the line 1 4 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction mdlcated bythe arrow;

Fig. 5 a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the parts in the position occupied thereby when the door of the casing is open and the switch is in off position;` y Fig. 6 a fragmentary sectional view showing a part of the contact-movingr mechamsm; and I Figs. '7 and 8. detail views showing the` connection between the switch handle and crank shaft, the parts being shown in on7 and off In the embodiment of the inventionshown in the drawings, the entire switch mechanism, including the fuses, contacts, and the operating mechanism except the switch handle or lever, is mountedwithin a box-like metallic inclosing casing comprising a body portion l anda cover 2, hinged to the body portion at 3. Ablock 4 of suitable insulating material, asporcelain, is held to the rear wall of the body portion 1 of thc casing by `supports or connecting means 5 of any suitable construction. Two pairs of resilient fuse-holding clips 6 and .7 of any suitable construction are fixed to the vouter face of the insulating block 4. `The lower! most clip of each pair is electrically connected with one vline wire of the circuit by a binding screwS, or other suitable means, and the uppermost clip of each pair is electrically connected by a plate or extension 9 with one of the stationary contacts 10 of the knife switch. rfwo fuses 11 are supported at their ends in thepairs of clips 6 and 7, being electrically connected therewith in the usual manner. contacts 10 ofthe switch are of the usual construction, comprising substantially U- shaped spring metal plates, the side members of which are bent kinwardly into engagement, or substantially in engagement,

witheach other, and then bent outwardly.

away fromeach other at their outer ends to facilitate the engagement of the knife contacts between said sidemembers of the stationary contacts and to insure a good elecpositions, respectively, .in said The stationaryl trical contact between the knife contacts and the stationary contacts.

In order to close the circuit between the terial, at their upper ends, to rock in unison about their pivots.

The knife contacts 12 are rocked about their pivots 13 simultaneously through a crank-actuated mechanism controlled or operated by a swinging switch lever or handle 16. The handle 16 is formed with a sleeve or socket 17 through which one end of a crank shaft 18 loosely extends. rlhe sleeve 17 is provided with an arcuate slot 19 through which extends a pin or stud 2O held to the crank shaft 18. The ends of the crank shaft 18 are journaled in bearing sleeves 21 held to the opposite side walls of the casing 1 by lock mits or washers 22 threaded on the ends thereof at opposite sides of said walls of the easing. The eccentric portion 18a of the crank shaft 18 extending between the outer ends of the crank arms 18", extends loosely through elongated slots 23 in the side plates of a substantially U-shaped guide member 24, depending from a slide 25 which is adapt-ed to travel in ways 26 held to the under side of the top of the casing 1. A hollow rectangular plunger 27 extends through a correspondingly shaped aperture in the bottom plate of the guide 24 and is guided vertically by the edges of said opening and the side plates of said guide. The eccentric portion 1Sa of crank 18 extends through apertures in opposite sides of said hollow plunger 27 adjacent the upper end of the plunger.

The crank is adapted to lift said plunger vertically, and to simultaneously shift the plunger, guide 24 and slide 26 laterally, dur ing the movement of said eccentric portion 18a of the crank from a point at either side of its pivot to a point directly above its pivot, and to permit the plunger to descend after the crank passes the dead center above its pivotal point. A pin or other suitable abutment 28 is held rigidly to the sides of the guide 24 and extends through elongated slots 29 formed in opposite sides of the hollow plunger 27. rThe plunger 27 is formed with a pair of depending brackets or extensions 30 at its lower end in which are journaled the opposite ends of a shaft 31 carrying a roller 32. A coil spring 33 is confined within the hollow plunger 27 between the pin or abutment 28, carried by the slide 24, and the bottom wall of the plunger.

The spring 33 is compressed when the plunger is retracted by the crank and is adapted to forcibly project the plunger downwardly after the arm 18L of the crank has moved past the dead center above the pivotal point of the crank.

When the plunger 27 is projected downwardly as the crank completes its throw in either direction it is adapted to strike the adjacent elevated end of a curved rocker plate 34 which is rigidly supported midway its ends on the upper end of an oscillating lever 35. The lever 35 is pivoted intermediate its ends at 36 in the forked outer end of a bracket 37 which is held at its rear end to the rear wall of the casing 1. The lower end of lever 35 is slotted at 38 to receive a cross bar or rod 39 rigidly supported between a pair of rock arms 40. The rock arms 40 are Vconnected at their lower ends by an integral transversely extending plate 41 held to the top of the bar or plate 15 which connects the knife contacts 12. The plate 41 is insulated from the knife contacts by the bar 15 and is rigidly held to said bar 15 in any suitable manner.

The stationary switch contacts or terminals 10, knife contacts 12, and all of the operating mechanism for shifting the knife contacts, with the exception of the switch handle 16, are mounted within an inner compartment of the casing formed by a substantially L-shaped plate or wall 42 held at its edges to the walls of the outer casing 1 in any suitable manner. The plate or wall 42 is so positioned as to prevent access to the parts inclosed within the inner compartment of the casing when the door or cover 2 is open.

In Figs. 1 to 4, and Figs. 6 and 7, the parts are shown in circuit-closingposition. TVith the parts in this position, when it is desired to break the circuit the switch handle 16 is rocked rearwardly and downwardly from the position shown in Figs. 2 and 7 to the position indicated in Fig. 8, causing the crank to swing through an are of subsoantially 120 degrees. .-"rs the crank arm 18a moves upwardly and forwardly through the first half of its throw it moves upwardly in the slot 23 in slide 24 and thus lifts the plunger 27 against the tension of spring which is compressed between pin 28 and the bottom of the plunger. The forward movement of the crank arm also forces the slide 25 toward the front of the casing l, thus bodily shifting the plunger 27 forwardly to a point above the elevated forward end of the rocker plate 34. The plate is curved as shown, in order that the roller 32 may be shifted forwardly withoutV engaging the plate, thus eliminating friction, lateral thrust on the plunger, and also enabling the plunger to gather some momentum on its down stroke before engaging the elevated upward movement of the plunger.

end of the rocker plate. As soon as the crank arm 18a passes the dead center above its pivotal point, said arm isfree toy move rapidly forwardly and downwardly together with the plunger 2T under the influence of the powerstored in spring' 33 during rIthe he compressed spring 33 projects the plunger downwardly, causing the roller 32 to strike the elevated end of rocker plate 34 a sharp blow. This blow on the rocker plate depresses the forward end theieof and rocks the lever 35 about its pivot 36, thus forcing the slotted lower end of the yleverV rear wardly. This movement of the lever 35 rocks the knife contacts 12 about their pivots 13 and forces the lower' ends of said` contacts forwardly out of engagement with the contacts 10, thus breaking the circuit.

The rear end of the slot 19 engages pin 20 on the crank shaft 18 duringthe firstv half of the throw of the crank and `positively rotates tlie crank shaft. After the eccentric portion 18 of the crank passes the dead center the crankis rapidly swung;

` circuit-closing operation is the' reverse of the circuit-breaking operation` just described and it is therefore thought to be unnecessary to describe the circuit-closing operation in detail.

The automatic locking mechanism lfor the door or cover 2 of the switch casing coniprises4 a latch lever 43 pivotally held inter-- mediate its ends on a stud 44 dependingfrom the top wall ofthe casing. The forward end of the lever 43 is normally forced laterally into the path of the sliding guide member 24, forwardly of said member, by means of a suitable spring 45. The spring 45 may be of any suitable form and, as

shown, comprises a coil spring,`one end of which is held to the top of the casing at 46 in any suitable manner, and the other end 47 of which bears against one side of the lever 43, the spring being coiled about the stud 44 on.- which said lever is pivoted. A coperating latching and ,doorclosing lever 48 is pivotally held at one end at 49 to the under side of the top wallof the casing at the rear thereof, and the free end of said lever extends across the path of the sliding guide 24 at the rear offsaid guide. Ak link 5() is pivotally held at itsre'ar end at`51 to the lever 48 intermediate the ends of said lever, and said link is pivotally coiinectetl'at 52 with a lug 53 held to the inside of the door or cover'2 of the casing. The rear en-fl of thelever 43 is formed with shoi'ilders 54 and 55 adapted to engage in front of the face and edge portions, respectively, of an offset portion 5G of lever 48, when the door 2 is closed and the switch mechanism is in circuit-closing position, to lock the door 2 in its closed position, as shown in Figs. and 4.

The locking mechanism is so constructed that the door 2 is automatically unlocked each time the switch is operated to break the circuit, and automatically locked when the switch iso'perated to close the circuit.

- The locking mechanism is also constructed in such a manner that, while the door is al-y ways unlocked when the circuit is broken, it will remain' closed unless manually swung Open. Means isV also provided 'whereby the locking mechanism is adapted to automatically close and lock the door 2 rif the door should be accidentally or carelessly left open when the switch is operated to close the circuit.

It will be obvious that when the slide 25 and guide 24 are moved outwardly by the crank, las heretofore, described, in the operation `of breaking the circuit, the guide 24 will engage the forward end of lever 43 and rock the same about its pivot 44 against the tension of spring 45, thus moving the rear end of the lever 4.3 to shift the shoulders 54 and 55 out'of the path of the offset portion 56 of lever 48 as'indicated in Fig. 5. It will be observed that, while the door 2 is thus released, itwill remain vclosed unless manually swung on its hinges 3. It will also be obvious that if the door is not opened the lever 48 and llink 50 will remain in their normal position, shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and that, if the switch is operated to close the circuit while the door is closed, the spring 45 will return lever 43 to its normal locking position shown in Fig. 4 when the slide 25 and guide 24 move rearwardly in the circuit-closing operation of the switch mechanism.

If the door should be opened as shown in Fig. 5, and left open, it will be obvious that when the switch is operated to close the circuit, the guide 24 will not only permit the return of locking lever 43 to locking position, but will'engage the free end of lever 48 and force the same rearwardly to the positionshown in Fig. 4. `This movement of lever 48 will automatically close the door, by reason of the link connection 50 between the door 2 and lever 48, and the offset portion 56 of lever 48 will snap back of the the door in its closed position.

It willalso be seen that should lever 43 fail to move to latching positionwhen the switch is operated to close the circuit, by

reason of breakage of spring 45,'or for any other reason, it will be impossible for any one to open the door 2 of the casing without irst o aerating the switch to break the circuit, since it door 2 be forced open under such circumstances the lever d8 will move forwardly and force the guide 24 and slide 25 forwardly until the crank is swung past its dead center, whereupon the spring 33 will shift the crank through the remainder et its throw a d operate plunger 27, and thus break the circuit.

It will also be observed that the switch lever must be swung a material distance before it will operate the switch, and that ai'ter the switch lever has been moved a predetermined distance the switch mechanism passes out of the control of the operator and will operate to make or break the circuit, the completion of the operation not being dependent upon a further movement ot the lever.

lhat l claim is:

l. ln an electric switch, the combination of movable circuit-closing means, a reciprocable plunger, a spring adapted to project said plunger into engagement with the circuit-closing means to move thev same into and out of circuit-closing position, a crank connected with said plunger adapted to retract the plunger against the tension of said spring during a part of its movement and to permit said spring to project said plunger with a rapid snap action during a further movement of said crank, and a support for the plunger and spring connected with the crank and shiltable thereby to points at opposite sides of the crank center.

2. ln an electric switch, the combination of movable circuitclosing means, a reciprocable plunger, a spring adapted to project said plunger into engagement with the circuit-closing means` to move the same into and out et circuit-closing position, a crank connected with said plunger adapted to retract the plunger against the tension of said spring during a part ot its movement and to permit said spring to project said plunger with a rapid snap action during a further movement of said crank, a support for the plunger and spring connected with th crank and shii'table thereby to points at opposite sides of the crank center, a switch handle, and connections between the handle and crank whereby the crank is adapted to operate at a speed independent ot the speed ot movement of the handle after the plunger is shifted past the crank center.

3. In an electric switch, the combination of movable circuit-closing means, a plunger, a spring normally tending to force said plunger in one direction, a rocking element pivotally supported intermediate its ends in the path of the plunger, connections between said element and the circuit-closing means for moving the circuit-closing means alternately in opposite directions when the rocking element is actuated, and crank mechanism adapted to retract said plunger' from said rocking element against the tension of said spring and simultaneously shift said plunger laterally from one side to the other of the crank center to adapt the plunger to be projected alternately against the rocking element at opposite sides of its pivot.

el. ln an electric switch, the combination of a stationary contact, a knife Contact pivotally supported to move into and out ot' engagement with the stationary contact, a reciprocable and laterally shilftable plunger, a spring, a rocking element pivotally supported intermediate its ends and adapted to be engaged alternately at opposite sides of its pivot by the plunger, connections be tween said element and the knife contact for rocl'ing said contact, a crank connected with said plunger adapted to retract the plunger from said element against the tension of said spring and simultaneously shift the plunger and spring laterally lengthwise ot the rocking element, the pivot of the rocking element and the axis of the crank and point of connection of the crank with the plunger being alined when the plunger is opposite the pivot oi the rocking element, and means for rotatingA the crank. I

5. In an electric switch, the combination of a crank, means tor rotating said crank, a plunger connected with said crank, a slidably mounted support in which said plunger is reciprocably held to move transversely ot the path ot movement ol the support, a connection between the crank and the support whereby said crank is adapted to slide the support between points at opposite sides et the crank center, a spring tending to normally project the plunger adapt-ed to be placed under tension during movement ot the support from either side of the crank center and to be released after the support passes the crank centeigand circuit-closing means operable by the projection of said plunger by said spring to alternately make and break the circuit.

6. ln an electric switch, the combination of a crank, means for rotating said crank,

a plunger connected with said crank, a slid-y ably mounted support in which said plunger is reciproeablv held to move transversely of the path of movement of the support, a connection between the crank and the support whereby said crank is adapted to slide the support between points at opposite sides ot the crank center, a spring tending to normally project the plunger adapted to be placed under tension during movement of the support rom either side of the crank center and to be released after the support passes the crank center, a roeking element pivotally supported intermediate its ends and adapted to be engaged alternately at opposite sides of its pivot by said plunger, and terminal-bridging means operable by Said element.

7. In an eleetric switch, the combination of a crank, means for rotating said crank,

a plunger connected with Said erank, a slid.

ably mounted support in which said plunger is reciprocably held to move transversely of the path of movement of the support, a connection between the crank and the support whereby said crank is adapted to slide the support between points at opposite sides of the crank center7 a spring tending to normally project the plunger adapted to be placed under tension during movement of the support from either side of the crank center and to be released after the support passes the crank center, a rockingT element pivotally supportedy intermediate its ends and adapted to be engaged alternately at opposite sides of its pivot by Said plunger7 a stationary contact, a pivotally supported knife contact, and a connection between said knife contact yand said rocking element whereby said knife Contact is adapted to be swung into and out ofy engagement with the stationary contact.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

LOUIS KELLNER. 

